Mike Doherty

Mike Doherty, owner of Dohjo Muay Thai and athlete with over 30 fights to his resume, lives a principle driven life to structure the success of others. He is a proponent of the human growth mindset and in this podcast he imparts his wisdom on the importance of training in three areas: physical, mental, and technical. At the core, he continues to develop himself and believes that one must be committed to lifelong learning in all of these aspects.

You are never physically ready unless you are mentally prepared. Through our discussion about fight camps, Mike talks about the purpose behind them and the techniques he has developed in them to ready himself for the battle. Mike is an avid reader, but throughout fight camp he reads even more to focus his thoughts. Fighting is high level problem solving with dire consequences, so it is necessary to continually train the neural pathways and turn weaknesses into strengths. Mike talks about his vulnerabilities and how he used cognitive behavioral therapy to prepare for upcoming fights and using that process as a driver to enable growth by managing fear and anxiety. We talk about ego about managing it grow.

Throughout the cast, we unravel Mike’s tool belt for why he goes about placing himself in uncomfortable situations to develop. He has a go first mentality and belief that we need to talk positively to ourselves in order challenge our current thinking. He imparts on listeners a series of recommended reads (found below) and talks about why stoic philosophy is such a big part of his reading list.

Recommended Reading:

Marcus Aurelius, Meditations - One of the world's most famous and influential books, Meditations, by the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (A.D. 121–180), incorporates the stoic precepts he used to cope with his life as a warrior and administrator of an empire. Find it here on Amazon.

Ryan Holiday, Ego is the Enemy - Draws on a vast array of stories and examples, from literature to philosophy to his­tory. We meet fascinating figures such as George Marshall, Jackie Robinson, Katharine Graham, Bill Belichick, and Eleanor Roosevelt, who all reached the highest levels of power and success by con­quering their own egos. Find it here on Amazon.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy - Is a short-term, goal-oriented psychotherapy treatment that takes a hands-on, practical approach to problem-solving. Its goal is to change patterns of thinking or behaviour that are behind people’s difficulties, and so change the way they feel. It is used to help treat a wide range of issues in a person’s life, from sleeping difficulties or relationship problems, to drug and alcohol abuse or anxiety and depression. Find a huge selection of books on this topic on Amazon.